Carey -- glad to know you’re not on those meds.
Elizabeth -- I'm questioning it.
wwjd -- If you have never been under spiritual attack maybe that should tell you something
Be careful on how you question it. Like I said earlier my father was mentally ill. He was dangerous when he was not being treated. When he was treated he was ok. It looks to me that you are placing judgement on a persons soul strictly because of their mental illness. How is THAT at all scriptual? My father loved God. He knew the bible, but that does not mean that he will be free from mental or physical ailments because he loves God.
No where in the scriptures does it say a Christian will not suffer from any illness. As a matter of fact it does say we will suffer hardships. God also says he will take care of us.
When a person says that those who are mentally ill are possessed are not looking at scripture. A Christian can very well suffer from mental illness, and that does not mean they are taken over by demonic forces.
Our reward is in Heaven. Not on Earth. Will my father be judged like everyone else? Yes. He will. Do I believe my father is in a better place now? Yes. I certainly do. With his disorder his faith was challenged to the very end, but at the time of his death he still KNEW and LOVED the Lord.
He knew he was sick, and he prayed everyday for God to help him. He would cry. He knew something wasn't right, and he did try his best to deal with it.
The death of my father also was a huge impact on my sister and I. My sister was diagnosed with anorexia after his death. I actually suffer from anxiety and signs of PTSD that are possibly related to what we went through when he was sick, and then his death was a huge impact as well(He was killed by a drunk driver).
My sister lived in denial with her anorexia, and later on in life she developed other health problems as a result of her eating disorder. Last year she lost her battle. I was by her side when she took her last breath. 24 hours before she died she asked for her bible. She said she was ready. As soon as she closed her bible her mind began to go. If someone was not of God why would they want to read their bible hours before death? She KNEW she was about to die. Her mental illness(anorexia) was the key factor in hear death, but at the end she was ready to be with God. She said she was. A demon possessed person could not say that. Just moments before she took her last breath I literally felt a sense of peace. It was a sensation that I seriously cannot explain, but at that moment I knew everything would be ok. The only explanation I can come up with is that God was with us that night. Her soul was separating from her body, and he was comforting us. Today, I can honestly say that bother my father and sister are no longer sick. They are cured . Because they were Christians and loved the Lord what they suffered in life... death relieved them of this suffering and I will be with them again one day.
Now, how has these experiences with my father and my sister affected me? Lets just say every single day is a struggle to even get out of bed. I have been through more tragedy in my 31 years than most people my age can dream of(no, i am not going to mention other things I have been through. Not important). Eventhough I am a Christian, and I know God is with me I do stull struggle. I panic. I get depressed, and I pray DAILY for God to help me. Do I think I am possessed by an evil spiirt? Well, some people on CC may think that, but they have no idea what I deal with daily. They don't know how I struggle, and how I do my best to deal with certain things. Just like you thinking someone who is bi polar is possessed, YOU do not know their person battle with their illness, and can in no way scriptually or righteously judge a person due to their psychosis because you do not know their heart. Only God does.